The Bridge

The Bridge

Boys and Girls Dream of love,Manhood and Womanhood to DIscover a World of Violence !

1959 · 103 min · ★ 7.6 · Drama, History, War

A group of German boys are ordered to protect a small bridge in their home village during the waning months of the second world war. Truckloads of defeated, cynical Wehrmacht soldiers flee the approaching American troops, but the boys, full of enthusiasm for the "blood and honor" Nazi ideology, stay to defend the useless bridge. The film is based on a West German anti-war novel of the same name, written by Gregor Dorfmeister.

Directed by Bernhard Wicki · Written by Michael Mansfeld

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

Criterion Channel

Rent or Buy

Apple TV StoreGoogle Play MoviesYouTube

Cast

Make it a double feature

3h 45m together

The Bridge

La Notte

Both from Bernhard Wicki.

More from Bernhard WickiSee all →

The Century of SurgeonsThe Century of Surgeons · 1972
The Century of Surgeons
★ 10.01972
SeriesDrama
A special insight into medicine presented on film: sterile operations, hospitals used to be built by the wind, anaesthesia, surgical gloves, similar to the films Sauerbruch or Kneip.
Affäre DreyfussAffäre Dreyfuss · 1968
Affäre Dreyfuss
★ 9.01968
SeriesDrama
The disaster began in the late summer of 1894, when a French staff officer appeared at the military attaché of the German embassy in Paris. He offers important military information at very high prices. A cover letter for this case ends up in the attaché's wastepaper basket. It is stolen. Investigations by the French Ministry of War incriminate Captain Dreyfus.
Paris, TexasParis, Texas · 1984
Paris, Texas
★ 8.11984
MovieDrama
A man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. His brother finds him, and helps to pull his memory back of the life he led before he walked out on his family and disappeared four years earlier.
The CommissionerThe Commissioner · 1969
The Commissioner
★ 8.01969
SeriesDramaCrime
Der Kommissar is a German television series about a group of detectives of the Munich homicide squad. All 97 episodes, which were shot in black-and-white and first broadcast between 1969 and 1976, were written by Herbert Reinecker and starred Erik Ode as Kommissar Herbert Keller. Keller's assistants were Walter Grabert, Robert Heines, and Harry Klein who, in 1974, was replaced by his younger brother Erwin Klein.
La NotteLa Notte · 1961
La Notte
★ 7.91961
MovieDramaRomance
A day in the life of an unfaithful married couple and their steadily deteriorating relationship in Milan.
The Longest DayThe Longest Day · 1962
The Longest Day
★ 7.61962
MovieWarDrama
The retelling of June 6, 1944, from the perspectives of the Germans, US, British, Canadians, and the Free French. Marshall Erwin Rommel, touring the defenses being established as part of the Reich's Atlantic Wall, notes to his officers that when the Allied invasion comes they must be stopped on the beach. "For the Allies as well as the Germans, it will be the longest day"
Sansibar oder Der letzte GrundSansibar oder Der letzte Grund · 1987
Sansibar oder Der letzte Grund
★ 7.51987
MovieDrama
Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, the paths of three people on the run cross by chance in the small Baltic Sea port of Rerig: Gregor, a member of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD); Judith, a Jewish woman; and a pastor who wants to save an Ernst Barlach sculpture classified as degenerate art. All those involved share a common fate and the dream of a fisherman's boy from Zanzibar, which is less a real goal than a utopia of a better future. Adaptation of Alfred Andersch's novel.
Es wird alles wieder gutEs wird alles wieder gut · 1957
Es wird alles wieder gut
★ 7.51957
Movie
The VisitThe Visit · 1964
The Visit
★ 7.21964
MovieDrama
Carla Zachanassian had a child by Serge Miller as a teenager. When Serge refused to marry her, she was driven out of town. By her own wit and cunning, she has returned as a multi-millionaire for a visit. The town lays out the red carpet expecting big things from Carla, only to learn that her sole purpose is to see Serge Miller killed...
KidnappedKidnapped · 1979
Kidnapped
★ 7.11979
SeriesDrama
David McCallum stars as the rebellious Alan Breck Stewart, and this ambitious serial (a co-production between HTV and Germany's Tele-Munchen) also features a host of British character actors, including Bill Simpson, Patrick Allen, Andrew Keir, Patrick Magee and Frank Windsor. When young David Balfour arrives at his uncle's bleak Scottish house to claim his inheritance, his relative tries to murder him then has him shipped off to be sold as a slave in the colonies. Luckily for the lad, he strikes up a friendship with Alan Breck Stewart, who is on the run after Bonnie Prince Charlie's defeat at Culloden. When a ship's captain tries to kill Breck for his money, the two manage to get to land and set out for Edinburgh, dodging the ruthless Redcoats along the way.
I promessi sposiI promessi sposi · 1989
I promessi sposi
★ 7.11989
SeriesDrama
Set between 1629 and 1631. Renzo Tramaglino and Lucia Mondella are Lombard peasants forced to separate and endure a thousand vicissitudes because of the bullying of the squire Don Rodrigo. However, during their journey they will find various people willing to help them, from Friar Cristoforo to the Innominato, from Federigo Borromeo to Donna Prassede.
It Happened on July 20thIt Happened on July 20th · 1955
It Happened on July 20th
★ 7.01955
MovieDramaWar
A dramatic reconstruction of the July 1944 attempt by German Army Officers to assassinate Hitler with a bomb and end the war before Germany was totally destroyed.
Crime and PassionCrime and Passion · 1976
Crime and Passion
★ 7.01976
MovieCrimeDrama
Financier persuades his mistress to marry a rich industrialist for his money, then discovers that he and the new wife are to be murdered by her new husband.
The Left-Handed WomanThe Left-Handed Woman · 1978
The Left-Handed Woman
★ 6.91978
MovieDrama
Mourning for a lost relationship can be every bit as devastating as mourning for someone who has died. In this drama based on the director's own novel, a couple with an unhappy marriage agree to a trial separation. They try to patch things up, and at the same time other relationships begin to develop for them.
MorituriMorituri · 1965
Morituri
★ 6.71965
MovieActionDrama
A German living in India during World War II is blackmailed by the English to impersonate an SS officer on board a cargo ship leaving Japan for Germany carrying a large supply of rubber for tyres. His mission is to disable the scuttling charges so the captain cannot sink the ship if they are stopped by English warships.
Spring SymphonySpring Symphony · 1983
Spring Symphony
★ 6.71983
MovieMusic
"Spring Symphony" is the story of Robert Schumann and Clara Wieck. Both were music entities. Robert Schumann turns out to have been a second tier composer, if that, never rising to the heights of a Beethoven or Mozart. In contrast, Clara Wieck was a master technician in the playing of the piano, a composer (probably not at Schumann's level), and was a child prodigy.

More Like This

Full Metal JacketFull Metal Jacket · 1987
Full Metal Jacket
★ 8.11987
MovieDramaWar
A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the U.S.-Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.
DownfallDownfall · 2004
Downfall
★ 7.92004
MovieDramaHistory
In April of 1945, Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Russian Army closing in from the east and the Allied Expeditionary Force attacking from the west. In Berlin, capital of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler proclaims that Germany will still achieve victory and orders his generals and advisers to fight to the last man. When the end finally does come, and Hitler lies dead by his own hand, what is left of his military must find a way to end the killing that is the Battle of Berlin, and lay down their arms in surrender.
Wild StrawberriesWild Strawberries · 1957
Wild Strawberries
★ 8.11957
MovieDrama
Crotchety retired doctor Isak Borg travels from Stockholm to Lund, Sweden, with his unhappy daughter-in-law, Marianne, in order to receive an honorary degree from his alma mater. Along the way, they encounter a series of hitchhikers, each of whom causes the elderly doctor to muse upon the pleasures and failures of his own life. These include the vivacious young Sara, a dead ringer for the doctor's own first love.
The Last SamuraiThe Last Samurai · 2003
The Last Samurai
★ 7.62003
MovieDramaAction
Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.
8½8½ · 1963
8½
★ 8.11963
MovieDrama
Guido Anselmi, a film director, finds himself creatively barren at the peak of his career. Urged by his doctors to rest, Anselmi heads for a luxurious resort, but a sorry group gathers—his producer, staff, actors, wife, mistress, and relatives—each one begging him to get on with the show. In retreat from their dependency, he fantasizes about past women and dreams of his childhood.
The PianistThe Pianist · 2002
The Pianist
★ 8.42002
MovieDramaWar
The true story of pianist Władysław Szpilman's experiences in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation. When the Jews of the city find themselves forced into a ghetto, Szpilman finds work playing in a café; and when his family is deported in 1942, he stays behind, works for a while as a laborer, and eventually goes into hiding in the ruins of the war-torn city.
RashomonRashomon · 1950
Rashomon
★ 8.01950
MovieCrimeDrama
Four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.
Life Is BeautifulLife Is Beautiful · 1997
Life Is Beautiful
★ 8.41997
MovieComedyDrama
A touching story of an Italian book seller of Jewish ancestry who lives in his own little fairy tale. His creative and happy life would come to an abrupt halt when his entire family is deported to a concentration camp during World War II. While locked up he tries to convince his son that the whole thing is just a game.
Lost HighwayLost Highway · 1997
Lost Highway
★ 7.61997
MovieDramaThriller
A tormented jazz musician finds himself lost in an enigmatic story involving murder, surveillance, gangsters, doppelgängers, and an impossible transformation inside a prison cell.
The Seventh SealThe Seventh Seal · 1957
The Seventh Seal
★ 8.11957
MovieFantasyDrama
When disillusioned Swedish knight Antonius Block returns home from the Crusades to find his country in the grips of the Black Death, he challenges Death to a chess match for his life. Tormented by the belief that God does not exist, Block sets off on a journey, meeting up with traveling players Jof and his wife, Mia, and becoming determined to evade Death long enough to commit one redemptive act while he still lives.
Being John MalkovichBeing John Malkovich · 1999
Being John Malkovich
★ 7.41999
MovieComedyDrama
One day at work, unsuccessful puppeteer Craig finds a portal into the head of actor John Malkovich. The portal soon becomes a passion for anybody who enters its mad and controlling world of overtaking another human body.
Cléo from 5 to 7Cléo from 5 to 7 · 1962
Cléo from 5 to 7
★ 7.71962
MovieDrama
Agnès Varda eloquently captures Paris in the sixties with this real-time portrait of a singer set adrift in the city as she awaits test results of a biopsy. A chronicle of the minutes of one woman’s life, Cléo from 5 to 7 is a spirited mix of vivid vérité and melodrama, featuring a score by Michel Legrand and cameos by Jean-Luc Godard and Anna Karina.
La StradaLa Strada · 1954
La Strada
★ 7.91954
MovieDrama
When Gelsomina, a naïve young woman, is purchased from her impoverished mother by brutish circus strongman Zampanò to be his wife and partner, she loyally endures her husband's coldness and abuse as they travel the Italian countryside performing together. Soon Zampanò must deal with his jealousy and conflicted feelings about Gelsomina when she finds a kindred spirit in Il Matto, the carefree circus fool, and contemplates leaving Zampanò.
La HaineLa Haine · 1995
La Haine
★ 8.11995
MovieDrama
After a chaotic night of rioting in a marginal suburb of Paris, three young friends, Vinz, Hubert and Saïd, wander around unoccupied waiting for news about the state of health of a mutual friend who has been seriously injured when confronting the police.
Fail SafeFail Safe · 1964
Fail Safe
★ 7.81964
MovieThrillerDrama
Because of a technical defect an American bomber team mistakenly orders the destruction of Moscow. The President of the United States has but little time to prevent an atomic catastrophe from occurring.
Schindler's ListSchindler's List · 1993
Schindler's List
★ 8.61993
MovieDramaHistory
The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.
SolarisSolaris · 1972
Solaris
★ 7.81972
MovieDramaScience Fiction
A psychologist is sent to a space station orbiting a planet called Solaris to investigate the death of a doctor and the mental problems of cosmonauts on the station. He soon discovers that the water on the planet is a type of brain which brings out repressed memories and obsessions.
LeviathanLeviathan · 2014
Leviathan
★ 7.42014
MovieDramaCrime
In a Russian coastal town, Kolya is forced to fight the corrupt mayor when he is told that his house will be demolished. He recruits a lawyer friend to help, but the man's arrival brings further misfortune for Kolya and his family.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter